Shoe fastener



Nov. 6, 1934. H. J, POTE 1,980,086

SHOE FASTENER Filed Oct. 12, 1933 Patented Nov. 6, 1934 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE SHOE FASTENER Henry J. Pote, Swampscott, Mass. ApplicationOctober 12, 1933, Serial No. 693,365

4 Claims. (Cl. 24--1 45) This invention relates to shoe fasteners andhas for an important object thereof the provision of a fastener which isadapted to be mounted upon any conventional type of shoe wherein thefront of the shoe is open so as to provide a means whereby the shoe maybe drawn into closed position more easily than is possible with thepresent type of eyelet fasteners.

.Another object of this invention is to provide a fastener which is soconstructed that all of the lace will be disposed on the outside of theshoe and will, therefore, easily ride over the fastener, therebypermitting the use, in certain types of shoes, of a single lace.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fastener of this kindwhich is relatively simple in construction and can be readily andcheaply manufactured and which will take the place of the present eyeletstructure used in shoe conmi structions.

The above and various other objects and advantages of this inventionwill in part be described and in part be understood from the followingdetailed description of the present preferred embodiment, the same beingillustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan View of a shoe structure havingdevices constructed according to the preferred embodiment of thisinvention mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan of a shoe structure having a modifiedform of fastener mounted thereon;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view partly in detail of themodified form shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Referring to the drawing wherein like characters of reference designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter Sdesignates generally a shoe structure which has an open upper as at 10.In the conventional shoe structures and particularly the shoes of thelow type, such as Oxfords, the shoe laces are threaded through eyeletsor holes punched through the opposite sides of the open portion of theupper 10 of the shoe. The mounting of these eyelets in the shoes adds aconsiderable cost to the manufacturer of the shoe and in additionthereto when the purchaser laces up the shoe, the laces do not readilyslide through the holes or eyelets in view.

'. of the fact that a portion of the lace is disposed on the lowersurface of the shoe between the foot and the shoe while another portionis on the outside of theshoe.

In order to permit the quick lacing up of a shoe or the drawing of thesplit portion of the upper together quickly, I have provided, as shownin Figures 1 and 2, a grommet generally designated as 11 which comprisesa cylindrical body 12 which is adapted to be disposed in a hole oropening 13 in the shoe portion 10 and to project through this opening.The outer portion of the grommet 11 has an outstanding flange 14 and theinnerend of the grommet ll-is adapted to be turned over as at 15 so asto clamp the central portion 12 within the opening 13. A looped member16 is integral with the grommet 11 and this looped member has a free end17 extending into the opening of the grommet 11 so that it will notconstitute a projection which will have a tendency to cut the shoe lacewhich is extended through this loop or eye member 16. The other end ofthe member 16 is integral with the flange 14 and the major portion ofthe loop or eye 16 overlies the central portion of the grommet 11. Whenthis grommet or fastener 11 is mounted in the shoe, the eyelet or eye 16is disposed transverse to the length of the split portion of the upper10 so that the opening will be disposed longitudinally of the shoe.

A shoe lace L is adapted to be threaded through the eye 16 and one endof the lace L may be secured to the foremost eye 16 and the other endthreaded crosswise of the shoe and through succeeding eyes. The oppositeend of the lace L is then pulled so as to draw the split portion of theupper 10 together and this end is then inserted between a fasteningmember 18 secured as by a rivet 19 to the side of the shoe.

I have shown in Figs. 3 and 4 another form of fastener which may bemounted on a shoe S and this modified form of fastener comprises a roundpost designated 20 having a base flange 21 and a head 22. A flangedrivet 23 is adapted to engage the interior of the post 20 and to beextended through an opening 24 in the shoe S. This rivet 23 has a flange25 which coacts with the flange 21 in holding the post 20 in securedposition in the shoe S.

A cap 26 engages over the head 22 and has the lower edge portion 27thereof at diametrically opposed sides pressed inwardly so as to engagebeneath the head 22 and thereby hold the cap tightly on the head 22. Alug 28 is integral with the cap 26 and extends downwardly over the head22 and engages alongside the post 20 and coacts with 2 the crimpedopposite side portions 2'7 of the cap to hold the cap in adjustedposition.

A bar 29 extends downwardly from the cap 26 and has an inturned lowerend portion 30 engagi ing over the outer edge of the flange 21 and thisbar 29 coacts with the confronting side of the post 20 to form an eye 31through which the lace L' is adapted to be threaded. The fastener hereindescribed is adapted to be mounted with the eye 31 on the outer side ofthe shoe. S or, in other Words, the eye 31 is positioned on the oppositeside of the split portion of the shoe. In this manner, the bar 29 willact only to hold or maintain the lace L in the eye 31 whereas the post20 acts as a guide means or a slide over which the laceL' is adapted tobe moved. The round surface of the post 20 will permit the lace L toreadily move thereover. I

Any desired number of these fasteners may be mounted on the shoe and, asshown in the drawing, this type of fastener permits the mountingof .theface on the outsideof the shoe without any portion thereof beingthreaded beneath the shoe as isithe case with the conventional eyelets.

Thebar 29 coacts with the post 20 to'form the loop similar to the loopor eye 16 which .is positioned on the outside of the shoe so that noportion of the lace threaded therethrough will be positioned onthe innerside of the shoe.

It is, of course, understood that various changes and modifications maybe made in the details of constructionand design of the abovespecifically described embodiment of this invention without,

departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications beingrestricted only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:-

1. A shoe lace fastening means comprising an open loop, and a grommetintegral with one end of the loop, said loop being disposed at a rightangle to the grommet and having the free end thereof extendinginteriorly of the grommet diametrically opposite to the connection ofthe loop with the grommet.

2. A shoe lace fastening means comprising a. cap, means securing the capto a shoe structure in offset relation thereto, and means integral withthe cap and coacting with the first means to provide an eyeperpendicular with the outer surface of the shoe.

3. A shoe lace fastening means comprising a cap, a post, means forsecuring the post to a shoe structure, means for securing the cap tothepost, and means integral with the cap :and

engaging the post to thereby provide an eye on;

